Brussels – The new season of NATO procurement was the focus of the last event in the “ICE Ascolta l’Europa” (ICE listens to Europe) cycle. The meeting, organised by the ICE Office in Brussels in collaboration with the Permanent Representation of Italy to NATO, offered an in-depth review of the rules redefining how the Atlantic Alliance purchases goods, services, and technologies.
The director of the ICE Brussels Office, Tindaro Paganini, opened the proceedings by emphasising how the scenario is in full evolution. The Alliance has, in fact, adopted new procedures to address the need for a more agile procurement system, in line with technological evolution and the goal of accelerating the acquisition of strategic capabilities. “NATO’s procurement policy has been completely overhauled this year; there are a whole series of new procedures that Italian companies must be familiar with,” said Paganini.
Daniela Veletta, Italy’s representative on the NATO Investment Committee, illustrated the innovations introduced with the new policy and procedures document, designed to unify and simplify rules that previously differed between operating budgets and investment programmes. A simplification that has been awaited for years and made necessary by the objective set at the Madrid Summit in 2022 of increasing joint investments and speeding up decisions by 2030.
Veletta explained how the new procedures aim to make processes faster, more transparent, and performance-oriented, leaving contracting authorities a wider margin of choice than in the past. Among the most significant innovations is the extended use of framework agreements, a tool that allows faster ordering of recurring materials and services, drastically reducing waiting times. The financial thresholds also change: under €1.6 million, central authorisations are no longer required.
An important chapter concerns the declaration of suitability for participating companies, which—thanks also to Italy’s position—will continue to be issued by the national authorities, ensuring a more controlled and reliable system. It will also be possible to amend tender documents after the deadline, as is already the case under European law, without penalising the technical or economic offer. Also revised are the dispute management mechanisms, which are now more streamlined and entrusted to internal NATO bodies with reduced timeframes.
After Daniela Veletta’s speech, Counsellor Massimo Gaudiano, from the office of the Italian Representation to NATO, emphasised the role of Italian companies in a context where NATO’s priorities are rapidly changing. Cloud, space, cyber, drones, and anti-drone systems are now central areas and also require the active participation of SMEs and start-ups. The Representation, he recalled, will continue to support the entrepreneurial fabric through thematic meetings and presentations to relevant NATO units, while, pending the finalisation of the single procurement portal, tenders will remain published on the websites of the national institutional and contracting authorities.
Today’s seminar marks the conclusion of the three-year launch of the project “ICE Ascolta l’Europa“, aimed at consolidating the role of the ICE Office in Brussels as a focal point for interaction among Italian companies, the European Union, and NATO. Over the past three years, 20 seminars on strategic topics have been organised, involving over 50 institutional speakers and more than 700 company representatives.
English version by the Translation Service of Withub
